title: Caveats of smartphone applications for the cardiothoracic trainee.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The clinical environment is becoming increasingly dominated by information technology, most recently the smartphone with its applications (apps) of a multitude of uses. There are already tens of thousands of medical apps available for download, to educate both patients and trainees, and many more are being designed to facilitate delivery of care. The rapid development of this technology has outgrown its quality evaluation and regulation, both urgently required to maintain patient safety, protect sensitive data, and ensure dissemination of accurate information. We review medical apps themed towards cardiothoracic surgery in terms of medical professional involvement in their content and design.
  
  
  METHODS
  iTunes and Play Store were searched for cardiothoracic surgery-themed medical apps, using the terms cardiothoracic, thoracic, cardiac, heart, lung, surgery, and variations thereof and including the term medical.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A focused search yielded 379 apps, of which 6% were associated with a named medical professional, 15% with a publisher or professional society, and 63% with a user rating.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings suggest inadequate input from the medical profession. The article discusses the pressing issues regarding quality evaluation, regulation, and information security, required for smartphones and handheld devices to become an integral and safe part of delivery of care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, King's College Hospital, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: joy.edlin@nhs.net.
authors.forename: Joy C E
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Edlin
authors.forename: Ranjit P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Deshpande
mesh_terms: D022126:Access to Information; D001296:Audiovisual Aids / Q000592:standards; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards; D040421:Cell Phone / Q000592:standards; D016494:Computer Security; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000592:standards; D034201:Computers, Handheld / Q000592:standards; D003479:Curriculum; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D063731:Mobile Applications / Q000592:standards; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011786:Quality Control; D019616:Thoracic Surgical Procedures / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards
keywords: 2; 36; 4.2; 4.4; EU; European Union; FDA; Food and Drug Administration; IT; NHS; National Health Service; app; application; information technology